Martin and Martyrdom

Martin Luther King was assasinated 40 years ago. He was in Memphis supporting a garbage man strike.

TIME magazine (April 7, 2008) has an article by Michael Eric Dyson. Mr. Dyson stated that Dr. King was almost waiting for his death and "he suffered huge grief of soul and heart, largely alone."

Dyson writes:

"The more he (King) protested poverty, denounced the Vietnam War and lamented the unconscious racism of many whites, the more he lost favor and footing in white America. For the first time in almost a decade, in January 1967 King's name was left off the Gallup-poll list of the 10 most admired Americans. Financial support for his organization nearly dried up. Mainstream publications turned on him for diving into foreign policy matters supposedly far beyond his depth. Universities withdrew lecture invitations. And no American publisher was eager to publish a book by the leader. In many ways King was socially and politically dead before he was killed. Martyrdom saved him from becoming a pariah to the white mainstream."